DAGUPAN CITY - A French scientist (fish geneticist) who is the man behind the breeding program of saline tilapia (Molobicus) is there to assess the progress made by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) - National Integrated Fisheries Technology Development Center (NFTDC) in Bonuan Binloc on a research breakthrough.

Dr. Westly Rosario, BFAR research center chief here and executive director of National Fisheries Research and Development Institute, told The STAR that Bernard Chebassus-au-Louis, director of research in Fish Genetics Laboratory in National Institute for Agricultural Research in France is in the city to see the strides made by BFAR which has been implementing the saline tilapia project for the past eight years in collaboration with the Center of the International Cooperation for Research and Development in Agricultural Science (CIRAD), a French scientific organization.

Rosario said he and other fishery officials are seeking recognition of the Molobicus success as one of the milestone projects of the Philippines. The Molobicus is a new strain in high-saline environment.

"We want to show that this is a product of high level of science and technology," Rosario said.

Chebassus-au-Louis was the chairman of National Museum of Natural History from 2001 to 2006. He was also the chairman of French Agency for Food Safety and vice chairman of the French Commission for Genetically Modified Organism Assessment. He is already for this project after it was adopted here.

On Nov. 2, Chebassus-au-Louis will be in Manila to meet with other leading Filipino scientists in biotechnology to explain further about Molobicus. Expected to attend the meeting are Dr. Rafael Guerrero, who started the tilapia industry in the country and is now the executive director of the Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Council for Aquatic Marine Research and Development, and Dr. Saturnina Halos of the Department of Agriculture-Biotechnology.

Rosario said issues like fears about using this kind of tilapia as well as how to come up with a very good project to make saline tilapia fully utilized in the Philippines will be among the subject matters to be discussed. He said they want to give the fish farmers an alternative species for aquaculture with great potentials and economic reward.

He added that they have come up with the first generation breeders which are now ready to disperse while its second generation, now 80 percent accomplished, is expected to improve the performance in growth and survival rate of the fish species.

SaltUNO was the brand name used for the saline tilapia they have produced which grows faster and bigger than ordinary tilapia, thus, raising the chances for increased production.

Rosario said it was not a simple breeding program they adopted as they tried to come up with complex hybrid which later they hope could possibly give to fishfarmers for commercial purposes, especially to those who are into the natural way of tilapia raising.